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A brilliant fusion of the Beatles, Squeeze, Guided By Voices, and some less obvious influences, Austin-based power poppers Cotton Mather are one of those rare power pop groups who transcend their inspirations to create powerful and original music of their own. The legendary indie rock outfit was founded by Robert Harrison of Austin, Texas in the early 1990s. What started as an experimental ... Read more in Amazon's Cotton Mather Store

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Digitally remastered and expanded deluxe two CD edition of the critically lauded 1997 sophomore album from the Austin-based Power Pop band founded in the early 1990's by Robert Harrison. Includes a bonus 11 track CD. Features new artwork with extensive liner notes about the making of Kontiki and the history of Cotton Mather.

Review

"It's time to pass KONTIKI on to a new generation." --Noel Gallagher - OASIS

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

In 1997, Cotton Mather, a rock and roll outfit of decidedly bookish fellows from Austin, made their second record in a house somewhere out in the Texas hill country. And like the famous adventurer's raft for which Kontiki was named, it was patched together with safety pins, gaffer tape, and a whole lotta love. And lo, there were Beatle-tastic harmonies aplenty, psychedelicious guitar riffs in abundance, and yea, this record did contain more hooks than an industrial meat-packing plant. But would the dulcet tones of such gems as "My Before and After," "Camp Hill Rail Operator" and "She's Only Cool" take over the airwaves and the frontal lobes of teenyboppers the world over? Alas: no. It was not to be...

But those in the know would speak of the record in hushed, reverential tones, and the secret wisdom of ages would pass from power-pop fan to power-pop fan, and the Kontiki legend grew.

Flash forward to 2011. Funded by legions of the faithful worldwide through a Kickstarter project, main man Robert Harrison is afforded the chance to re-birth this beautiful baby into the world complete with a lovingly designed package, a band history, recollections by those involved, and a second disc of related rarities, including demos and outtakes. And the rarities are illuminating, whether the acoustic versions of "Camp Hill..." and "Innocent Street," the rocking 4-track take on "Homefront Cameo," more fleshed-out or experimental versions of songs that would appear on their subsequent releases ("Pine Box Builder" and "Baby Freeze Queen") and especially the never-before-heard gems "Flying Annie's Kite" and "The Gold Gone Days," which in hindsight, would have sounded quite at home on the original release.Read more ›

So I stumbled upon this treasure that I should have realized long ago. A few years ago I bought a double album by a band called Future Clouds & Radar. It was a quirky double album with some really great tunes. Really liked it at the time, but forgot about it. So I recently pulled it out again and started to do a little research. The Austin Texas band is mostly a vehicle for front man Robert Harrison. In an earlier life he was the front man for a relatively unknown 90's band; Cotton Mather. In that iteration they released a masterpiece titled "KonTiki". Turns out none other than Noel Gallagher loved this album and brought the band over to England to open up for Oasis (must have been a huge letdown for the audience when Gallagher & Co took the stage, in my opinion!). Anyway, I recently bought the re-issued "KonTiki" album with bonus disc, and it is simply fantastic. It's definitely one of those records that strike you as very good with the first listen, but really soon becomes completely infectious. Yeah, all the hype comparisons to Elvis Costello, Squeeze and Beatles are somewhat accurate, but there is much more to this material. (I might add that if a Beatles comparison is to be made, it would be Revolver era Beatles). A few non-starters are here, but the multiple really great tracks more than make up for it. For some reason, all this talent has pretty much been overlooked by the mainstream music world. The guy just hasn't been able to get much traction, which baffles me. Hopefully, this re-release will generate the excitement and enthusiasm it really desearves.....

"drew" doesnt know what he is talking about. this CD is one of the best you never heard. if you love the beatles from revolver to abbey road (and everything in between), you will enjoy this CD. the 2nd CD of outtakes doesnt quite live up to the original, but still deserves 4 stars out of 5. the remastered sound is amazing -one of the best sounding CDs I have ever heard. well worth your hard earned $$.

I had the original version when it came out. I loved most of it - Camp Hill Operator Woman, My Before and After, Aurora Bori Alice, and more are some of the best songs that came out of the 90's indie rock explosion. I always told people the record sounded like what would've happened if John Lennon joined a band that was XTC, The Byrds and R.E.M. combined.

The album still stands up well after 15 years or so - the songs are just as memorable, and get stuck in your head. What I really love about this reissue (apart from the generous bonus disc of demos, etc) is that the record really does sound better than ever. I know a lot of people really liked it's original low-fi, cheap 4-track recording, but I always found it a bit muddled, and I know when I uploaded it to my mp3 players it always sounded very distorted. This new remaster retains the charm of the original recording while actually sounding a lot warmer, and not as distorted. I consider this record to be the last great one of the indie rock explosion in the 90's, and one of the best albums ever from that period. The new deluxe 2CD edition improves it very well.

This album was perfect when it was released back in the late 1990s. Now there's more of it? Yeah, this is the stuff. If you loved this album, you must buy this. If you've never heard this album but love good pop (think Revolver-era Beatles), you must buy this. If you hate everything and want to die? Well, this album might change everything.